So Many Cars! Let’s Get Small
1 year ago Owners + Clubs
How often have you heard a child utter, “When I grow up…”? The following words are typically a wish or thing planted firmly in the “Not Gonna Happen” camp. But, every so often, a dream comes true. Jim Bur declared he was part of the Mopar® family at the ripe old age of two. In Jim’s words, “My dad was a car guy, and Hot Wheels were an inexpensive way to keep me happy at the grocery store.” A custom 1968 Barracuda Custom landed in Jim’s hands, and that’s all it took. He carried the car around like other kids have their favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Jim lived the words “Mopar or No Car” for fourteen years before getting his driver’s license! Jim’s father also fostered an interest in all things vehicular by always having a car or two around to work on, race and rally. Everyone involved in racing and rally in Michigan knew the Burs were on site when they saw an incredible 1970 Dodge A108 camper at the end of a special stage or at the finish of a rally. There were also several opportunities to hang out and watch/fetch a wrench for neighbors. One in particular was always working on a stunning 1970 Challenger R/T. But Jim clung to the vision that ’68 Barracuda Hot Wheels burned into his brain as his lifelong favorite muscle car.
If Hot Wheels were the initial spark, his second “full-size” car was the fire. A brand-new 1985 Omni GLH! The GLH wasn’t precisely the muscle car he dreamt about in his younger days. But it was the hottest hatch on the road in 1985. 146 hp and 170 lb-ft moved the 2,200-pound hatch from 0-60 in a little over 7 seconds. Not bad for 1985. Jim looks back on the Omni as one of the most fun cars he has ever owned, and he has had many! The list of 4-cylinder FWD Mopar vehicles is long. As Jim rolled through life, there was a string of minivans and Dakotas, including a customized ’98 R/T CC he was particularly fond of. More recently, a series of Scat Pack Challengers and Chargers found their way into the garage. Colors ranged from F8 Green to Plum Crazy and Sinamon Stick on his current widebody Charger. At the end of this journey, the pot of gold is a pristine 2002 Viper GTS Final Edition. We would typically dive deeper into a handful of these vehicles to fill in the gaps and give you a clearer picture of who our interviewee truly is. Well, it’s time for a detour! To truly discover who Jim Bur is, we must imagine a reality somewhere between 1/8th and 1/64th the scale of our world.
To put it bluntly, Mr. Bur is a rather unique car collector. Refer back to the top of the page to see where we are heading. Welcome to the world of die-cast collectibles. A world where you can bring home the vehicles you genuinely love at fractions of a penny on the dollar compared to their 1:1 scale counterparts. He isn’t exactly sure how many scale vehicles his collection holds but estimates it to be between ten and twelve… THOUSAND! Let that sink in for a second. Your inner eight-year-old will undoubtedly need some time to process that number.
How does this tie itself to the world of Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep®, Ram and the rest of the Mopar family? I’ll let Jim explain this in his own words. “I built model kits my whole life and always have had replicas on display on every flat surface around me – home office, garage, etc. But in 1992, when the new Viper RT/10 launched, the company I worked for asked me to find some plastic promo 1:24 Viper models from AMT to give away at a training event. That search opened a rabbit hole. I took the opportunity to foster my Viper and toy love affairs by purchasing 6 cases for myself. Selling off 4+ cases to co-workers and friends to pay for the rest and keeping one case plus one car for myself. I still have that unopened case in the basement, and the single car is a centerpiece in my collection as that is the one that “started it all.”
The “find us some plastic promo Vipers” project perhaps foreshadowed Jim’s career path. Let’s look back over his 33+ year career in automotive marketing and licensing for a paragraph or two. Remember two-year-old Jim with the Hot Wheels Barracuda? Well, he morphed into adult Jim, working hand in hand with Chrysler for three-plus decades. Jim and his colleagues have impacted the vast majority of the last two decades of Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Chrysler and Mopar licensed toys, gaming and die-cast vehicles. The following quote sums up how Jim reflects back on his career. “If you have purchased a ‘Mopar Licensed’ toy, die-cast, game or video game with licensed content included since 2004, I was involved in making it happen. I have applied my years as an industrial designer, my love of cars, my marketing/advertising background and being an auto enthusiast to a career. I was lucky to get paid to influence two of my favorite things, Mopar and toys. It was an honor to be that blessed, and I never take that for granted.”
I asked Jim which die-cast project he was most excited about, knowing this would not be an easy answer. “The enthusiast in me is most excited about the Motormax 1:24 Dodge Omni GLH – after convincing them to do the car (it took two years of pleading), I was asked during development if I could help them find an era-correct license plate to use on that car. I still had the license plate from my GLH (nobody will be surprised by that), so I took a high-res image and sent it to them. My plate is on every one they made. So, I have a black non-turbo GLH replica with my license plate on it!! The other is M2 Machines Dodge A100/108 vans in 1:64 and the Hallmark Dodge A100 pickup ornament – I pushed that vehicle with both companies for several years, and both finally made it to market. M2 even did a tribute van that looked a lot like my Dad’s A108. It brought me a big smile to give one to my dad as a gift that Christmas.”
Let’s wrap this one up in 1:1 scale. If you whisper Viper within 20 square miles of Jim, he knows you said it and will find you! The man loves his V10-powered, hand-built American Sports cars and has an extraordinary story regarding his journey from wanting to owning the 2002 GTS parked in the garage. “Through my career, I have been fortunate enough to work in some capacity on EVERY significant new Viper launch – ’92 International, ’96 Coupe reveal, ’98 LeMans win marketing, Viper Owners Invitationals (helped run five of them), 2002 final edition promotions, 2003 launch, and licensing for every one after that, including products associated to the 2013 reveal and launch. In 1996, I asked the plant manager for a key blank. He initially refused but asked why I wanted one. I told him it was my carrot hanging out in front of me until I could get it cut for my own car. He smiled, opened the desk drawer and handed me one without saying another word. That key stayed with me through many life changes, and in 2010, I was able to have that key ‘cut’ when I bought my 2002 Viper GTS Final Edition. The license plate says “WRTHEW8″ (Worth The Wait) – my subtle middle finger to everyone who laughed at my dream and my reminder that good things do come to those who bust their ass and never lose sight of their dreams. The red stripey one gives me a chance to pilot a rocket ship, and I drive it often. They put that little pedal down there for a reason, and I love the view from the driver’s seat.”
Undeniable passion and an extraordinary career path have led to a lifetime of Mopar memories for Jim. With his involvement in numerous communities and clubs, from the Viper Club to being a founding member of the Dakota R/T Club, and touchpoints with every brand falling under the Mopar banner, he is a meaningful part of these brands that so many of us love. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me, Jim. “Mopar or No Car!”
